Pages

Parabens Come From Plants

It's true. Parabens are naturally occurring in many plants. Like this one: Japanese honeysuckle (INCI: Lonicera japonica). I've seen some 'natural' cosmetics companies advertise their products as paraben-free, yet Japanese Honeysuckle extract is on the ingredients list.

Hmmm.

I'm not sure whether to be ticked off about them lying about the paraben-free part or to be ticked off about parabens having gotten such a rotten deal they need to be hidden behind their origins in order to get people to buy products containing them. The truth is, parabens are a part of nature.

They Grow on Trees, Bushes and Underground

Parabens don't just come from Japanese Honeysuckle. They are found many other places.

Paraben Pie, Anyone?

Methylparaben is naturally occurring in blueberries, where it acts as a antimicrobial agent.

And...

Saying Something is 'Paraben Free' isn't Necessarily Correct

In a two-part article entitled "Free from 'free from'", preservatives expert Dene Godfrey writes: 'Paraben free' is an increasingly common claim amongst companies offering 'natural' products. The potential problem here is that several parabens exist in nature. If natural substances are extracted from plants that contain parabens, it follows that parabens may be present in the final cosmetic product. Read part 1 of the article here • Read part 2 of the article here

How the Preservative Comes About

The paraben name is a condensation of the name Para-hydroxybenzoic acid. Parabens are esters of para-hydroxybenzoic acid.

What this means: para-hydroxybenzoic acid is chemically changed (reacted) by adding different types of alcohol to it (this is also called esterified). And just to be quite clear: paraben preservatives are not made by squishing blueberries. That would be far too expensive to be viable. Paraben preservatives for use in cosmetics and foods are made in a lab with manmade chemicals.

Is this Scary?

Not at all. Para-hydroxybenzoic acid has extremely low toxicity. Cosmeticsinfo.org writes: "Parabens have been shown to be 10,000 times weaker than the most potent phytoestrogens and 100,000 times less potent than estradiol, the estrogen produced naturally by the body."

Under one of your posts I've found Dene Godfrey's comment and checked out his articles about parabens - they are really, really great. I wish I had more time to translate them into polish to show people that parabens ain't evil.

Thank you so much Foster! Now I'll be running around with a silly grin on my face all day because of your kind words. I agree with you about parabens not being evil. They really are everything but. They are rock solid trustworthy preservatives. :)

Went to a cosmetics event ,well qualified speaker said parabens are very safe unfortunately someone did a rubbish study and bad-mouthed them. Today they still suffer. Am glad you enlightened me/us a bit more.

@Anonymous - I hear you. Somehow it seems scaremongers have gotten such a foothold on parabens that everyone is afraid to touch them. A lot of these people also say 'I don't trust anything I can't pronounce', to which I ask 'So, where does that leave parabens?'